Shivangi Prakash-
On Friday, the Supreme Court issued notice on a special leave plea brought by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) challenging the Karnataka High Court ruling directing a student’s promotion to the following academic year.
Senior Advocate Sajan Poovayya, representing the University, sought a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hemant Gupta to issue an order declaring that the High Court ruling could not be used as a precedent.
According to the Senior Counsel, other students have been detained on the same grounds like this one.
According to the bench, the Court will issue an interim order stating that only this particular law student would be admitted for the next academic year.
The Karnataka High Court overturned an NLSIU judgement refusing a law student admission to the fourth year of the B.A. LL.B (HONS) programme due to failing a subject.
Hruday P. B, son of sitting Karnataka High Court judge Justice PB Bajanthri, filed a writ petition, and a bench of justice Krishna S Dixit granted it, ordering the NLSIU to analyse and award marks to the petitioner’s Project Work.
The order specifies that the Petitioner may continue the term as a carryover/carry forward, regardless of any attendance shortage.
The student was declared to have received an “F Grade” in the Child Rights Law examination on March 13, after he was not given a mark for the project work in issue due to alleged “plagiarism”; he was also barred from taking the Special Repeat Examination of the third trimester in the third year.
Clause 4 of Regulation III of the B.A. LL.B (Hons.) Academic and Examinations Regulations of 2009 was cited by the Court, which stated: “There is absolutely no material on record to show that the subject teacher has found the evidence of plagiarism had referred the matter to the UGC Chairman in writing and had sent a written intimation to the student. The petitioner came to know of the alleged plagiarism only after enquiry with the Registry of the University when his exam result was not announced; this act of the University constitutes a grave error apparent on the face of the record.”
It added: “The entire episode of so-called ‘plagiarism’ is framed on the basis of a few notoriously cryptic mails exchanged between the Course Teacher and the Exam Department, detrimentally keeping the petitioner in darkness.”
Also read: SC Refuses to Stay NLSIU’S Revised Admission Notification